Grease gun



1956 F. J. ,QAscHER ETAL 2,773,530

GREASE GUN Filed Oct. 16, 1953 R s mwwa wm N C 6 1. 2 1 mmc paw m 504 GREASE GUN Floyd J. Mascher, Dieterich, Donald Kissinger, Efling-ham, and Arthur Clagg, Dieterich, Ill.

Application October 16, 1953, Serial No. 386,471

1 Claim. (Cl. 222-256) The invention relates to guns for discharging grease into fittings for lubricating bearings.

One object of the invention is to provide a grease gun which can be securely gripped and conveniently manipulated while in use and which renders the supply of grease therein visible at all times, so that the user can observe the supply of grease in the gun and avoid fia/ilure to force lubricant into the fittings on account of lack of grease.

Another object is to provide a grease gun having a cylinder or barrel for retaining the grease, which is formed of transparent plastic for showing the supply of grease, and which is reinforced by an annular band or to prevent its distortion during use and which also facilitates the gripping of the gun while it is being manipulated to force grease into the fittings or while it is being loaded with grease.

Other objects will appear from the detailed description.

The invention consists in the novel features hereinafter set [forth and more particularly defined by the claim at the conclusion hereof.

in the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section .of a grease gun embodying the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a side elevation.

The invention is exemplified in a grease gun which comprises .an open ended barrel or cylinder [for retaining a quantity of grease and provided with open ends; a head 11 forming a closure at one end of the barrel; a head 1-2 on and for closing the opposite end of the barrel; a piston 13 slidably [fitting the inner diameter of the barrel; a stem 14 .slidably mounted in head 11, having its inner end fixedly secured to the piston 13; a handle or knob 15 fixed to the outer end of stem 14; a coil spring 16 in barrel 10 and between piston 13 and head 11 for subjecting the grease in the barrel to pressure; a flexible discharge pipe 17 provided with a discharge nozzle 18, adapted to deliver the grease into a fitting on a bearing; a pump chamber 19 and a plunger 22 in said chamber for forcing or controlling the discharge of grease from the barrel through the pipe 17 to the nozzle '18; and a lever 20 which is pivotally supported on the head 12 and pivoted at 21 to reciprocate plunger 22 in the chamber 19.

The barrel 10 is formed of suitable transparent hard thermoplastic material which leaves the contents thereof visible at all times. The heads '11 and 12 are formed of suitable metal. The barrel is provided at its discharge end with a male screw thread 23 which fits into a female thread in the head 12 and at its handle end with a male screw thread 24 which fits into a female thread in the head 11. The bore or inner periphery of the barrel 10 which is lfOI'lIlCd of plastic is smooth for a close fit with the packing rings of the piston 13 for preventing leakage around said rings. The barrel is provided with an integral annular band or rib 26 for the twoifold purpose of reinforcing the barrel against bending and providing ,a surface on the outside of the barrel which can be conveniently gripped while manipulating the gun to supply 2,773,630 Patented Dec. 11, 1956 grease -to the fittings or while loading the barrel with grease. When the user grips the barrel in one of his hands, the band will fit or extend between contiguous fingers of the same hand, and this will prevent slippage of barrel in the hand so that the user will have firm control of the barrel for its manipulation in lubricating. The band underlies the lever 20 and is disposed near the longitudinal center of the barrel. The band 26 is also helpful in holding the barrel when the piston 13 and stem 14 have been removed for filling the barrel with grease. The transparent barrel enables the user to see, during use, the amount of grease, if any, in the gun and to prevent overloading in refilling the barrel.

The gun may be loaded in any manner well known in the art. In some guns, the stem 14 may be secured in its withdrawn position with the spring 16 compressed between head 11 and piston 13. Upon detaching the head 11 from the barrel and removal of the piston .13 and stem 14 therewith, a paddle may be used to fill the "barrel with grease. The barrel may also be loaded when the head 12 is disconnected from the barrel 10, by slowly operating the piston 13 against the force of spring 16, to suck the grease from a bulk container into the barrel 10 and then replacing the head 14 on said barrel. During these operations, one hand of the operator can firmly grasp the barrel and band 26 while the other hand is free to manipulate the handle 15. The band 26 has suflicient width to transversely reinforce the barrel against bending and is devoid of sharp edges which are likely to dig into or cut the base of adjoining fingers.

During use of the gun, the piston 13 will be urged by spring 16 to keep the grease packed in the barrel between said piston and head 12. The grease can then be discharged through pipe 17 and nozzle 18 by imparting pivotal strokes to the lever 20, which will operate plunger 22 to force or control the discharge of grease through pipe 17 and nozzle 18 into the fitting on a bearing. During the operation of the pump, the barrel can be firmly grasped by a hand with fingers disposed at the sides of band 26 for accurately and conveniently manipulating the nozzle during discharge of the grease. As the supply of grease is decreased by discharge from nozzle 18, the user can readily observe the amount of grease, if any, in the barrel so that the user will load the barrel and failure in lubricating the bearing will not result so long as the user observes the barrel. During the use of the gun, the band 26 stiffens the barrel against bending which would cramp the piston and its stem against sliding movement in the barrel. This reinforcement also avoids the necessity of a thick or rugged wall of plastic material, which increases the cost of production and the weight of the gun.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth since these may be varied within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A portable grease gun comprising: a one-piece cylindrical barrel of transparent plastic material which renders its contents visible, and having open ends, heads of metal removably connected by screw-threads to the inner and outer ends of the barrel, respectively, one of said heads having means for the discharge of grease from the barrel, a piston slidable in the barrel, :a spring in the barrel for urging the piston to dis-charge the grease, and a single solid annular band integral with and of the same plastic material, adjacent the longitudinal center of the barrel, and of suflicient thickness to longitudinally and'transversely reinforce the barrel at its longitudinal center against deformation, the band having substantially right angled sides fitting between contiguous fingers oi the:

hand of a user for grasping the gun against slippage in said hand while it is being manually manipulated.

References Citgd in tha file fi thls patqnt UNITED STATES, PATENTS Yeagher Aug. 1, 1922 Carr Oct. 4, 1927 Thomas July 31, 1934 Wallace Dec. 18, 1951 Howard et a1. Jan. '20, 1953 

